“Ouch!” Alternative Treatments for Pain

Many of our animal companionssuffer from chronic pain. Bonespurs, arthritis, hip dysplasia and muscle/tendon injuries can make them miserable.Traditionally, pain has been managed withNSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatorydrugs) such as rimadyl, etogesic, metacam, deramaxx or a slew of others. These medications have a long list of side effects: lossof appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, anemia, liver damage, adverselyaffects the kidney function, stomach and intestinal ulcers, intestinal bleeding and

changes in behavior; depression and/or restlessness. Given the list of potential side effects, we offer safer alternative treatments

first. We use a variety of “non-traditional” methods that can give your animal companion pain relief, with no harmful side effects.

How can you tell if your pet is in pain? The most common symptoms are: limping, soreness, lack of energy, lack of appetite and inability to jump or go upstairs. Some uncommon signs of chronic pain are: depression (yes, pets get depressed!), excessive licking, aggression when touched and muscle spasms on the back.

Once we have properly diagnosed your pet’s source of pain, we create a treatment plan that includes:

• Acupuncture

• Spinal (chiropractic) manipulatoin

• Laser therapy

• Herbs and joint supplements

• Nutritional therapy

Many chronic pain patients we see are stuck; they just don’t seem to be getting any better no matter what. These are usually nutritional deficiencies and diet change to a fresh, moist, balanced diet does wonders! For cats, especially older arthritic ones, we use 1/4 teaspoon of curcumin (tumeric powder) and get them off all dry food.

Not only will choosing to use alternative pain treatments help your animals feel better, it has the added benefit of helping them live longer by avoiding the toxic side effects of traditional steroid and non steroidal chemicals.